Former Irish heavyweight boxing champion Joe Egan has teamed up with former martial arts expert, Mark Noyce to star in a new comedy feature titled ‘On the Ropes’ which is currently shooting in the UK. The film follows a local documentary maker who is covering a news story for regional TV on a 'proper fighting gym', run by Joe.

As the documentary moves along it takes a comedic turn when events begin to unfold particularly when Joe’s his attention is drawn to a rival gym with a unique fighting style, owned by self-professed karate expert, Keith Kraft. ‘on the Ropes’ started filming in September in 2010 and is due to wrap in Febraury 2011. The doc has mostly shot in Peterborough, England.

‘On the Ropes’ stars Joe Egan as Big Joe. By the age of 24, Irish boxer Joe Egan had recorded over 80 Irish and International title boxing wins, 7 Irish titles and was also a Golden Gloves champion in the boxing ring. His co-stars include Mark Noyce (actor, Nativity!) who has also written and co-directs the feature and Ben Shockley (House of Dunn).

The features other co-director is Hamdy Taha who is also on board as the doc’s executive producer. The film is privately funded and is scheduled for a nationwide release mid 2011 through cornerstone media international. The feature has secured DVD/Blu Ray distribution through cornerstone media international. Cornerstone are also currently in discussions to see a theatrical release before DVD release.